The Alphabet Prayer

One Sunday morning, a young shepherd boy was caring for his sheep when he heard the bells of the church ringing. Watching the people walk by on their way to church, he thought, “I would like to talk to God, but what can I say to him?”

He had never been taught a prayer. So, kneeling down, he began to recite the alphabet. Although the boy was hidden from view, one of the men going to church heard the boy’s voice. Peering through the bush, he saw the small boy kneeling with his hands folded and his eyes closed, continuing to say, “V, W, X, Y, Z . . . A, B, C . . .”

He interrupted the boy. “What are you doing, child?” he asked.

The boy replied, “Praying.”

The man seemed surprised and said, “But why are you reciting the alphabet?”

The boy explained, “I don’t know how to pray. But I want God to take care of me and my sheep. So I prayed the alphabet, hoping God could make the letters into words. He’ll know what I want and what to say.”

The man smiled and said, “Bless your heart, God will!” And he carried on to church, knowing that he had already heard the finest sermon he could possibly hear that day. His encounter with this young shepherd boy reminded him of Jesus’ teaching,

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3,4.